You’ve finished that debut manuscript — the one that will help your career as an author take off. But how do you convince a literary agent to represent you? As a senior vice president and senior literary agent at P.S. Literary Agency, I’ve had the opportunity to...
We often use euphemisms to talk about subjects that are unpleasant or uncomfortable to broach. Well, actually, we use them to avoid talking about unpleasant and uncomfortable subjects. In my career, I’ve written about death, money, sex and all kinds of personal...
Do fiction and nonfiction writing have anything in common? After all, their goals are fundamentally different. One wants to entertain, the other one mainly educates. But take a look at Hunter S. Thompson’s work and you will know better. Thompson was a master at...
When I decided to give freelance writing a try in 2016, I started off at a pretty big disadvantage. I had never graduated from college, had no network or connections and I didn’t have a single writing sample to send potential clients. Fortunately, a friend happened...
Fact-checking has always been an essential part of the reporting, writing and publishing process, but with so much misinformation floating around, it’s more important now than ever to submit and publish accurate information. Unfortunately, many of us full-time and...
Whether you’ve heard of it before or not, you’re using the concept of “register” in your writing. Register is the level of formality in a piece of writing. It’s slightly different from what we might call tone or style. You could see it as a sliding scale, from formal...
When I started my journey to become a freelance writer over six years ago, my head was filled with the same visions that nearly everybody has. I pictured myself in the corner table of my favorite coffee shop, my fingers flying over the keyboard as I cranked out...
For the next three days only, we’ve got an epic offer for you… The Writer’s Bundle 2020: Freelance Writing Edition This one-of-a-kind bundle is focused on a topic that’s super relevant given the economic climate: earning money as a writer. We’ve bundled...
You’ve heard it before: referrals are “warmer” than a typical lead. They’re the fastest way to grow your new business. Referrals are more receptive to buy and need a shorter sales cycle. We know, we know. Getting clients to refer you is gold. But how do we encourage...
I turned the manuscript for my first book over to my editor at the end of February after a seven-week whirlwind of researching and writing. I joked that I would need to dedicate the book to the four coffee shops I rotated through on nights and weekends when I was...
